2006 Summer - Higher Things Magazine (with Bible Studies)

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Higher Things

Inside this issue:

• Social Networks: Facebook and MySpace • Is It a Sin if You Don’t Get Caught?

• Breathtaking Blurbs from Blogs W W W. H I G H E RT H I N G S . O R G

/ SUMMER / 2006

B B B B B B

We’ve compiled a sampling of some notable blurbs from the Higher Things blogs.

Check them out and read more online at http://blog.higherthings.org/.

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From Rev. William Cwirla on evolution: ———————————————————— Yesterday was “Evolution Sunday,” otherwise known as the Feast of St. Darwin, at enlightened churches who wanted to distinguish themselves from fundamentalists (a condition akin to leprosy in liberal circles). In honor of St. Darwin’s Day, I offer this children’s sermon.

Once upon a time, a man took a long trip on a boat to a faraway island to look at birds and think about the origin of life. He came up with a theory that nothing became everything all by itself and wrote a book about it.

His friends liked the book very much and began to look for all sorts of evidence to support the theory.They searched up and down, high and low to find all sorts of things that proved that nothing became everything all by itself.

Soon they all got together and formed a little group called “Friends of the Theory.”They began to insist that the theory was the only possible explanation for all the evidence they had gathered to support the theory. They refused to play with anyone who questioned the theory or even to talk with them.

“How can nothing do something?” an old man once asked, scratching his head. The Friends of the Theory laughed at the old man and threw stones at him and called him names.“Religious stupid head,” they yelled, which made the old man very sad.

Then the Friends of the Theory went to court so that no one could say anything bad about the theory ever again. A judge ruled the theory that nothing became everything all by itself was science and not religious stupid head stuff.

The Friends of the Theory were very happy with the judge.“See? Everyone agrees with us,” they said.“And anyone who doesn’t agree with us is a religious stupid head.”

And that, my children, is how everyone came to believe that nothing became everything all by itself.

The moral of the story is: When people believe in nothing, they will believe in anything. http://blog.higherthings.org/wcwirla/ article/1174.html

From Rachel Engebretson on being defensive: ———————————————————— Defensive. What a word. It’s the word that Christians are forced to embrace in this world.

It’s usually our obligation to prove, defend, or convince others about our side. Like the unicorn theory, it’s rejected, and the burden is placed on us. In reality, however, the atheist’s argument is weaker.They believe Christianity is unrealistic, while their theories are worse. http://blog.higherthings.org/rachelee/ article/1385.html

From Pastor-Elect Ryan Fouts’ Maundy Thursday sermon: ———————————————————— But Jesus desires to be your servant.To you He says,“Unless I wash you, you have no part in me.”

Unless He serves you, you have no part in Him. His washing. His service. It is He who arises from the meal. It is He who girds Himself with a towel. It is He who fills the basin and washes you clean. Don’t look at yourself—fix your eyes on Jesus. http://blog.higherthings.org/ryanfouts/ article/1391.html

And one last tidbit from Rev. William Cwirla on the Gospel of Judas: ———————————————————— The Gospel of Judas is one of many “gospels” written under the name of an apostle, like the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Philip.They may as well be the Gospel of Moe, Larry, and Curly for all their authenticity.These are the works of various sects of Gnosticism, a pernicious heresy that crept into Christianity like a virus in the latter part of the first century and turned into a fullblown disease in the second and third.The Gospel according to St. John (I’m talking about the actual Gospel according to the real St. John) has the beginnings of Gnosticism in full view, as do the later epistles of Paul along with Jude and Peter. http://blog.higherthings.org/wcwirla/ article/1372.html

T A B L E

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Contents

Volume 6/Number 2 • Summer 2006

FEATURES

COLUMNS

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12 Dare To Be Lutheran: Dare To Be Simple

Is It a Sin if I Don’t Get Caught?

By Rev. Paul R. Harris What if you consider cheating but don’t do it? Or what if you actually do cheat, but no one catches you? Was it still wrong? Pastor Harris gives us the lowdown on sin and its consequences.

6

“Pastor, I Heard God Speak to Me”

By Rev. George F. Borghardt III Has God spoken to you lately? Does He still speak audibly to us like He did to Adam and Eve? Pastor Borghardt explains where God speaks to you today.

10 Myths about Faith

By Rev. Erik Rottmann Pastor Rottmann debunks some well-known myths about faith and explains what faith really is and why it matters.

22 People Are Like Sponges

By Zack Stuckwisch What do sinners have in common with dry, useless sponges? Read Zack Stuckwisch’s discussion of our sin, God’s forgiveness, and the blessings of Baptism to find out.

24 It’s Complicated with Facebook

By Tyler Williams Are you addicted to MySpace? Is your relationship with Facebook a little too serious? Check out Tyler Williams’ article about online social networks, and discover their advantages and disadvantages.

25 A Bunch of Do-Do

By Rev. Craig Donofrio Doo-doo has a nasty smell, but what does that have to do with “doing” good works? Pastor Donofrio clues us in on why we are completely dependent on Christ for our salvation.

28 Open Book, Open Mind

By Adriane Dorr Before you plop down to watch TV, consider picking up a book first. To find out why Christians need to engage their brain, read on!

By Rev. Tim Pauls Are you tempted by all the shiny, enticing things other denominations have to offer?

Pinch yourself to see if you’re still alive, and then read Pastor Pauls’ article on why Lutheran worship centers around Christ crucified and why that message is all for you.

14 Confessing Christ on Campus Since 1517

By Rev. Marcus Zill Most colleges and universities today are known for being unfriendly to Christians. In this new column, Pastor Zill explores ideas about how you can help restore a Lutheran presence on these campuses.

16 Sloppy Fries for Sloppy Lives

By Kathy Luder Some days it seems that life just isn’t fair. Kathy Luder had one of those days, and she shares a personal story about resentment, forgiveness, and lunch ladies.

20 Mining the Riches: Flood of Grace

By Rev. J. Bart Day Our Lord brings us from death to life through Baptism. Pastor Day’s commentary explains how God uses simple means like water to do His life-saving work.

26 Pulse: 24

By Sandra Ostapowich Who is the superhero on Superman’s lunchbox?

Jack Bauer of 24, of course! Tune in to learn more about one of the season’s hottest TV shows.

30 Catechism: A Quick Fast

By Rev. David Petersen What? Put down my granola bar and fast before the Lord’s Supper? Are you crazy? Read Pastor Petersen’s article on why proper preparation before Holy Communion is so beneficial.

Also in this issue: Higher Things thanks Artist Tom DuBois of Houston, Texas, for contributing the art that appears on the cover of this issue and also on pages 20-21. We look forward to more of his art in the future.

2 Blurbs from the Blogs 9 Talkback 19 News and Notes Back Cover: Information on the 2007 Higher Things conferences, “For You!”

HigherThings Interim Editors REV. TIM PAULS REV. ERIK ROTTMANN Interim Managing Editor JULIE STIEGEMEYER Assistant Editor ADRIANE DORR Art Director STEVE BLAKEY

Editorial Associates REV. PAUL BEISEL REV. GEORGE F. BORGHARDT REV. DAVID PETERSEN

III

Bible Studies Editor REV. TIMOTHY SCHELLENBACH Contributing Editors REV. ERIC ANDRAE PAM KNEPPER KATHY LUDER REV. SCOTT STIEGEMEYER DR. GENE EDWARD VEITH Business Manager LYNNETTE FREDERICKSEN Subscriptions Manager CYNTHIA HALL

Subscriptions Assistant CHRIS HALL

____

Christ on Campus Executive REV. MARCUS ZILL

Conferences Executive REV. BRUCE KESEMAN

Internet Services Executive REV. GEORGE F. BORGHARDT Interim Publications Executive MOLLIE ZIEGLER

III

Retreat Executive LANDON REED

_____ Board of Directors President REV. KLEMET

PREUS

Vice President REV. WILLIAM Secretary SANDRA

CWIRLA

OSTAPOWICH

Treasurer LYNN FREDERICKSEN

BRUCE PARADIS REV. RICHARD RESCH JEFF SCHWARZ BEVERLY YAHNKE MOLLIE ZIEGLER ___________

Higher Things Magazine ISSN 1539-8455 is published quarterly by Higher Things, Inc., 2026 22nd Ave., Kenosha, WI 53140.

No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the executive editor of Higher Things Magazine. Copyright 2006. Printed in the United States. Postage paid at Fort Wayne, Indiana. For subscription information and questions, call 260-357-5094 or e-mail subscriptions@higherthings.org.

(This phone number is only used for subscriptions queries.) For letters to the editor, write letters@higherthings.org.

Writers: you may submit manuscripts to: submissions@higherthings.org. Please check http://higherthings.org/ magazine/writers.html for writers’ guidelines and theme lists.

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f you don't get caught in a lie, did you really sin? If you don't get caught stealing, is it really breaking the Seventh Commandment?

Sometimes we don't think those private cruises we book on the Lust Boat really matter. No harm, no foul.

We might be able to live this way if God had just stopped at eight commandments.

In the Large Catechism, Luther says God gave the last two commandments especially to people like you: people who go to church, who are involved in youth group, and who haven’t been zapped by the first eight commandments. The last two commandments tell us that sinful desires alone qualify as sin. Even if you never acted on that lustful thought you had, even if you got away with it, it’s still sin before God and subject to punishment both now and in eternity.

You’ve probably wondered why God has two commandments saying,“You shall not covet.”

Maybe your Baptist friends, who combine the Ninth and Tenth Commandments into one, are right about this. The Reformed way is intriguing. What real difference is there between coveting your neighbor’s house, wife, workers, or animals?

The difference is in the Hebrew word for covet. The word covet in the Ninth Commandment means “You shall not cause yourself to covet.” In other words, don’t play with a single sinful desire in your mind. Don’t act as if it really doesn’t matter because it seems that no one else knows about it. That lust, that covetous desire to want one thing more, is sin in all its ugliness and damnableness. Even if you were a quadriplegic and unable to lift a hand or speak a word, having one single lewd thought in your life is enough to damn you to hell for all eternity.

But it never stops at one, does it? Once that one little thought of lust pops into your mind, there’s a cascading effect. It’s like someone launched a computer virus in your mind. Thought after thought rushes in, and you become tainted, ruined, defiled by lust after lust. This is what our Lord points out in the two commandments that expose the sin of coveting. The Ninth Commandment tells us not to covet a single thing. The Tenth Commandment says that we’re not to go along with those lustful thoughts, since they get out of hand so quickly.

Sin

Is It a

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How convicted you are! You didn’t resist the first impulse to sin. You went along with it, and it exploded into a hundred others. It’s like when you were five years old in the grocery store and touched that one can. You weren’t prepared for the avalanche of cans that followed. You were scared by it.

It’s the same with sin. The Tenth Commandment makes a lie out of the belief that it’s not a sin if you get away with it. You can’t believe you got away with something when your own mind convicts you. Indulging in one secret lust allows a dozen more to multiply. How do you get those thoughts out of your mind?

Here’s where you can take a fatal step. It’s illustrated by this overused story. A woman keeps interrupting the Sunday service by praying out loud,“Clear the cobwebs out of my mind, Lord. Clear the cobwebs out of my mind.” She does this for several weeks. Finally, after pleading with God to get the cobwebs out of her mind yet again, a man in the back says loudly,“No, Lord, don’t clear the cobwebs out. Just kill the spider.” So far, so good. It’s not enough to clear the cobwebs of lusts out of your mind. The spider that causes them must also be killed. The problem comes when you start to think that you can kill the spider yourself.You’re convinced that if you just think good thoughts, then you won’t have lusts, or that if you just repent of thinking it’s not a sin if you get away with it, then the spider will be killed.

But whenever we’re thrown back on our own works—whether we try harder, repent more sincerely, or attempt to believe more—we’re being thrown to the Law, and it will have its way with us. Law that’s not answered by Gospel does one of two things. It either makes us self-righteous, and we think that we have killed the spider, or we begin to despair and start to believe that the spider is too big to kill.

Sometimes the devil likes us to know what sin looks like before we commit it, and he makes that sin appear small. It seems like it’s a tiny spider that you can kill anytime you want. He might even lead us to believe that it’s not really a spider at all, since no one else can see it.

The devil also operates in a second way. He makes the sin appear to be bigger after we commit it. When we see that our sin has been

By Rev. Paul R. Harris magnified, we despair that it’s such a big spider that even God can’t kill or forgive it. So now that secret little sin of yours, that one you thought you could get away with, is a big, honking, furry spider. What now?

The answer is not for you to kill the spider but for God to take care of it. Sin is damnable whether you get away with it or not and whether others know you committed it or not. But no sin is so big, so lewd, so strong that the blood Jesus shed on Calvary cannot cover it, forgive it, or free you from it. No sin of yours can withstand the blood of Jesus sprinkled on you in Baptism, put into your ears by Absolution, or put in your mouth in Communion.

God tells you one thing about all your sins that can be applied two different ways. First, you are never alone with your sin. Second, in the Law, no sins are ever so small they are not seen by Him, and in the Gospel, no sin is left unpaid for or unforgiven. When sin looks like a small spider, hear the Law. When sin looks like a giant one, hear the Gospel.

if I Don’t Get Caught?

Rev. Paul R. Harris is the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Austin,Texas. He is the father of one college student, two teens, and one wannabe. All he loves; none he understands; all he rejoices over.You can e-mail him at pastorharris@trinityaustin.com.

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“Pastor,

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I

heard

God speak

to me

”

by Rev. George F. Borghardt III

od did what? How did He speak to you? What did He say? I must not have done a great job of hiding my unbelief, because Troy just repeated himself in the same southern drawl.“Pastor, you’re gonna think I’m crazy, but I heard God call my name in church on Sunday.”

G

“You did?” I said, trying to sound as pastoral as possible while at the same time wondering if Troy had indeed fallen off his rocker. Shifting in my chair, I suddenly was very uncomfortable. Could Troy hear that I was stumbling over words?

Don’t get me wrong. God can speak to people directly and without means. In fact, the Scriptures are full of God bursting into our world with His words and promises. He spoke to the patriarchs in Genesis.

He spoke to Moses and the prophets. God can do anything He wants.

That’s the neat thing about Him being God. “Wha . . . what did God say, Troy?”

While God can speak to us, there’s no promise that God will speak to us without any means. In fact, He doesn’t need to speak to us that way because He has spoken through His Son—through the Word made flesh. In the external Word and Sacraments, God delivers all that His Son, the Word of God, won for us by His holy life and bitter sufferings and death. The promise of the delivery of God’s forgiveness rests on the Word and Sacraments. Whether Troy had heard God or not would be determined by what Troy had heard.

“Well, Pastor, you know how the Bible can’t possibly have an error?

And you know how God can’t lie? You know how you taught us that God speaks to us through His Word?”

“Yes. What did God say to you?” I repeated.

We sinners think that God is talking to us all the time. That’s our own personal idolatry. Our gods tell us to do all sorts of things, and nearly all of them tell us to do things we already want to do. If we want a big TV, it’s amazing how we hear our god telling us that we should have a big TV. We feel that God wants us to do this or God wants us to do that. It may be something completely ungodly, but we can convince ourselves that God wants us to do it. Why? Simply because

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we feel like He is. That’s our own personal idolatry. Don’t be deceived.

Idolatry is common even amongst the baptized.

“So, well, you know, Pastor, how God’s Word says,‘He who hears you hears Me’?”

That’s Luke 10:16! Even better, Troy. Don’t just quote the Bible, Troy.

Quote a good verse! God speaks to us through His Word. His Word is outside us. He comes to us in church through the preaching and teaching of His Word.

When you hear your pastor preach the Law, you are hearing Christ preaching. When your pastor preaches the Gospel, Christ is preaching to you. When your pastor gives you the Lord’s Supper, that’s Christ teaching you and feeding you. When your pastor absolves you in the stead and by the command of Jesus, the catechism says that is “just as valid and certain as Christ was dealing with us Himself.” Is the pastor special? No. Christ is speaking to you through the Word. Your pastor is just, well, to put it bluntly, a delivery boy.

“Well, Sunday at Communion, I heard God call me by name and say . . . ” He paused, and I was again struck with great uncertainty. What exactly did he think God had said to him? Did he think God was telling him to build a new church or something crazy? Did he think God had told him do something insane?

“Well, Pastor, Jesus said,‘Troy, take and eat, the body of Christ given for you.’ When I heard you call my name, Pastor, I realized that Christ was calling me by name. Then, Christ fed me His body and blood.”

I let out a sigh of relief. Troy wasn’t the idolater; I was. I had forgotten that God speaks to us through the external, preached Word.

I was the one who doubted God’s Word and promises. God had indeed spoken to Troy. Jesus had called him by name. Jesus had forgiven him all of His sins. Christ even put His body and blood into Troy’s mouth.

God had delivered His gifts to Troy through his pastor.

What happened to Troy happens to you every Sunday morning in the Divine Service. God takes His Word and speaks it into your ears through His servant, your pastor. Your pastor is His mouthpiece, His instrument, for delivering the Word and Sacraments to you. God spoke to Troy through his clueless pastor. Christ certainly speaks to you too through the mouth of your faithful one.

Just for fun, go see your pastor after church and pull a “Troy.” Tell your pastor that God has spoken to you through his preaching. Not only will you get a chance to have a little fun with your pastor, but you’ll also get to give him a little joy by speaking God’s Word into his ears.

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Rev. George Borghardt III fumbles and bumbles his way through life as assistant pastor at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Conroe,Texas. He is also the Higher Things Executive of Internet Services. Check out his blog at http://blog.higher things.org/borghardt/.You can e-mail him at revborghardt@sanctus.org.

TALKBACK We want your feedback, so start the conversation already!

Send your e-mails to: letters@higherthings.org.

Higher Things reserves the right to edit for content, clarity, and length.

Dear Pastor: When I was a freshman at UIC I contracted viral encephalitis and in the years that followed I found myself living a life completely different from the one that I had mapped out for myself.

How vividly I remember being told that my illness and subsequent poverty was due to a lack of faith. And since I was being told this by someone who held a position of spiritual authority in my life, I believed. But not without inner conflict and this belief and conflict lasted for several years.

Thus, the article by Ms. Fouts (“The Devil’s Opera”) in which she states, “Suffering with anything...is not a measure of the magnitude of our faith, nor can we expect that “sufficient faith” will exempt us from suffering” to be very powerful and one that I would have benefited from during those early and challenging years.

I also appreciate the topic of mental illness being addressed, specifically.This illness is difficult to understand and I think, therefore, harder to feel compassion and offer assistance to the afflicted. A broken leg, a heart attack, even cancer was easier for me to understand and I willingly offered assistance and prayed for that person. Mental illness and the often times perplexing and at times, frightening behaviors that may be exhibited was much harder to understand. I found that I wasn’t praying for the afflicted but rather for myself and hoping that this person would just go away (I didn’t care where) because I was uncomfortable with the presence of someone in my congregation or neighborhood that didn’t quite look or act in a way that was acceptable.

However, now as the parent of four children with a variety of serious challenges, both mental and physical, I now believe in and have seen the potential, the goodness and redeeming value in all people. Sometimes this isn’t easy, especially when frightening or even criminal behaviors are present. But not all who suffer from mental illness are frightening, criminal or appear odd. It is at times an invisible disease.

The medical information provided in this issue mirrored that of our physicians and the spiritual information similar to what I have heard from the pulpit. My family is fortunate to have gifted, committed and compassionate people who provide us with spiritual and medical guidance.

Thank you for taking on this subject and for providing information, hope and further understanding for the mentally ill, their families, friends and congregations.

Sincerely, Cathi Dear Cathi, Your words echo those of many Higher Things readers. Most have been touched in some way by a mental or physical illness. Often it seems easier to brush such topics under the rug simply because we are insecure and don’t know how to handle the situation. But as Lutherans, we are not given to turn away from those who need help but to serve the needy, to show mercy to the suffering, to befriend those who have been broken by sickness. Rest assured that your words are encouraging not only to us but to the many readers who struggle with the very issues you discussed.

-The Editors __________________ Editor, Adriane Dorr wrote an article on I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Josh Harris. I read the book and the article. I found the article very misleading. I am disappointed that you would even publish it.

I wonder if Adriane even read the book. In her article she writes how Joshua Harris only points to the law. In chapter seven in I Kissed Dating Goodbye, he states that if we confess our sins to God, He will forgive us no matter what. She doesn’t seem to think we need law, only gospel. How are we supposed to have the gospel without the law?

Adriane seems to imply that Josh thought himself better than others. Josh Harris says he is a sinner just like the rest of us several times in his books. He says we can’t always get God’s law right.That’s why we have Jesus.

She implies that we do not need to live up to any standards when it comes to dating. We are going to sin anyway; God will forgive us, so, oh well! She encourages readers to play with fire when it comes to dating. Her article seems to point out that you should put yourself into bad situations where you lust or think bad

thoughts. Aren’t we supposed to steer clear of those situations? Why encourage 14, 15, and 16 year olds to kiss and date when they can’t financially provide for each other or get married? Yes, you can be friends with the opposite sex, but why go farther at such a young age?

I was quite taken aback wither harsh criticism on breaking up with non-Christians.

Why would we ever put ourselves into that kind of relationship, when the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”

I was upset that she didn’t seem to think we need to see God’s glory as the greatest purpose of every part of life. Why wouldn’t it be? Out of our gratefulness for what God has done for us, we should want to give God glory, even in dating! If we’re not supposed to, what purpose does our life hold? What kind of message does that send to readers? We’re not supposed to give God glory?

In her article Adriane Dorr went on about how legalistic Josh Harris is. In Josh Harris’s book Boy Meets Girl: Josh states that we should not be legalistic or lawless in our dating practices. If we follow God’s principles for dating and marriage we are not going to be guaranteed a perfect relationship, but we won’t have any regrets. That’s the bottom line!

I see Josh Harris’s book as a good guideline when it comes to dating. I found many points valid to every day life in a sinful culture. I thought that Adriane was throwing the good out with the bad by saying this book was dangerous. On the contrary I though her article was very dangerous for the reasons listed above.

I would like to know where Josh Harris messed up when he put pen to paper?

Catherine Dear Catherine, You are not alone in your search for truth; others struggle with the same questions you have.

Our serious concern with Josh Harris is that he leads teenagers to believe that they can keep the Law by dating properly. He sets forth moral rules for dating and then allows teens to think that they are capable of keeping them all perfectly. But we know better.We are sinners, and it’s likely that we’ll mess up.

Relationships aren’t easy. Sometimes we mess up. Sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we do things on dates we shouldn’t. Sometimes we do things that are God-pleasing.That doesn’t mean we give up trying to obey God’s Law. But at the end of the date, we know that know that no matter how hard we tried to do everything just right, we’ve still failed.We’ve not been the perfect gentlemen or lady, and for that we need forgiveness.We receive it from Christ crucified, and that’s far more comforting that trusting in ourselves to get everything just right.

-The Editors

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MythsAbout Psoriasis is a hereditary skin condition that creates large, If God does not answer your red, itchy patches called legions it is because you do not have all over your body. It’s not contagious, but it isn’t pretty either.

“For we do not know what to pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26 ESV).

People tend to stare. Sometimes they times answers no. Think of this analogy: a child asks his mom to let him ask how you got poison ivy.You feel and it is a really hot day. Mom knows the dangers of swimming alone, self-conscious about flakes of dead skin the child does not believe in his mom enough. The child’s request on your clothes and furniture. It’s not all answers our prayers with a repeated no.This is not because we lack that bad when you are old and used to it.

But when it first strikes you at about thirteen or fourteen years of age and the doctor says you’ll have it for the rest of your life, psoriasis can be a very big deal. It might even make you wonder about God, faith, and stuff like that.

Bad things hap Psoriasis doesn’t really have much to do with faith, but I had to learn this the hard way. Having left the St. Paul had an affliction he prayed God would take Lutheran Church during my teen years, I waded up to my for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” neck into Pentecostalism (another story for another time). I various ailments and afflictions for good purpose answered countless altar calls, seeking a miracle. I clear. Joseph spent years in Egyptian slavery and attended tent meetings with guest speakNaaman’s leprosy (2 Kings 5) led to eternal life, ers who claimed to have the gift of people in the Old Testament died “not having healing, hoping to receive their them from afar” (Hebrews 11:13 ESV). Yet heaven-sent touch. (Once, God make of my psoriasis? Admittedly, while a “healer” from has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh Africa leaned over me,

Myth #1:

Myth #2:

Myth #3

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fervently Just as God gives you the praying for the faith. Faith is not a muscle Holy Spirit, I swung my commitment or devotion. arm upward with a big “Thank and Holy Communion. you, Jesus!” and accidentally punched the man squarely in the eye.) I was always told the same thing:“God wants you to be healed.You just have to believe He will.” Each time I went home red and scaly, convinced I needed to increase my faith, make things better with God, and be more committed to holy living.

I probably should have read the Bible. God’s Word would have dispelled the myths about faith I had been told. Come to find out, these myths made me suffer more than the psoriasis did!

Faith t

By Rev. Erik Rottmann

prayer the way you want it answered, enough faith.

God always answers our prayers but for our blessing and benefit. He somego swimming by himself. As far as the child can see, the water looks like fun, and she tells him no. It is not because she is angry or mean and not because was simply not the best thing for the child. In the same way, God sometimes faith! He sees more than we do. He has our well-being in mind.

pen because you do not believe in God enough. away. God preferred that Paul keep it. God said,“My grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV). God graciously allows people to suffer (Romans 8:28), even though His purposes might not always be imprisonment (Genesis 39–41) before realizing the benefit. and perhaps even the preaching of the Gospel in Aram. Many received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted God will vindicate them all in the resurrection. What good use does that remains to be seen. But it will be seen! “And after my skin I shall see God” (Job 19:26 ESV).

:

You need to find ways to make your faith stronger.

gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8; Romans 12:3; 2 Peter 1:1), He also sustains and increases your that you must exercise to strengthen. It does not grow stronger through increased Faith is nourishment that God provides to you through the gifts of His Word, Baptism, Your faith becomes stronger, not when you act, but when God acts through these things!

I recently read a blog by a young woman overwhelmed with despair because of her psoriasis. Anyone with personal afflictions, medical or otherwise, has probably experienced similar moments.The devil, the world, and our sinful nature certainly would love to see more of that! But God’s gift of faith produces also endurance.This endurance will have a good result:“that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:4 ESV).

Rev. Erik Rottmann is the pastor of Grace Lutheran Church,Versailles, Missouri, and a member of the Higher Things editorial board. His e-mail address is echo-romeo@sbcglobal.net.

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et’s say, God forbid, that I’m in a train wreck. Afterward, two things become apparent: I need surgery to repair an injury, and I need counseling for the trauma.Who will I see more—my surgeon or my psychologist? It depends on a lot of factors, but I’m betting I’m going to see the psychologist a lot more. Is it because the mental trauma is worse than the physical?

Maybe. But I’m thinking it’s going to be something else instead.

H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 12

Here it is: the difference is that the surgeon gets to use tools that are outside of me. He’s got scalpels and clamps and fiber-optic cameras. I’m not part of the cure; the cure is apart from me.Therefore, the surgery doesn’t depend much on me.The doc’s going to do his work, and I’m going to get the benefit. If someone else has the same injury, the surgeon can perform the same op with the same tools. Simple. Not easy, not shallow, but simple.

The psychologist, on the other hand, has to deal with my mind, and my mind is inside of me. He’ll try one tactic for a few sessions, and if it doesn’t work, he’ll try another. Maybe a bunch more. He can’t take a brain-o-matic zapper off the table and cure me. This makes it a lot more complicated. Why? Because it’s all inside me, inside my head.The surgeon doesn’t need my help to help me.The psychologist needs to figure out the personal approach for me, and then he needs my cooperation to make me better.

Here’s the point: Lutheran worship is like the surgery. It’s all about God’s Word and His Sacraments.

Why? Because those are His instruments of grace— the tools He uses in order to save us. By these means of grace, Jesus is present with His people to forgive their sins—to save them.Those instruments are outside of us. Like the surgeon, it’s Jesus who does all the work.Think of a baby who’s baptized. What has he done to be saved? Nothing. Jesus does it all.

That, by the way, is why the liturgy goes with Word and Sacrament worship. If you look at the Scripture we sing in the liturgy, you’ll find that those texts continuously declare that Jesus is present to forgive sins. If Word and Sacrament are the focus of worship, the liturgy makes sense.

It’s simple. Definitely not shallow, but simple.

Lutheran worship is Lutheran worship because of the Sacraments, those instruments of grace. It’s the pastor’s task to use those instruments to give the forgiveness of sins, and like the tools of surgery, the means of grace are the same for all because they’re outside of us. It’s simple, and so Lutheran worship is for everybody!

By Rev. Tim Pauls

But what happens if you get rid of the Sacraments? Then you don’t have those tools with which to operate anymore.Then worship is not about using tools outside of us but about working with what’s inside of us. Like a psychologist who keeps searching for a personal approach to my brain, the pastor has to experiment continually, trying to find a personal approach to make each individual’s heart cooperate.

Unlike the psychologist, he’s working with a whole congregation of different people, so he has to try to make all their individual hearts respond. In this case, worship is always changing to try to reach the people. But it gets complicated quickly. Some music and messages will work with some better than others. Dance.

Clap. Sway. Rock out. Dim the lights. Be quiet and ponder. Do skits instead of sermons. Instead of a service where the same tools help everybody, only some are going to like it.Worship isn’t for everybody anymore. It might be for older people or youth or young professionals, but not for all. It’s a convoluted mess. It’s a train wreck.

And what happens to the liturgy? It usually disappears for a couple of reasons.

For one, the liturgy points to Jesus’ presence in His Sacraments. If you get rid of the Sacraments, the liturgy doesn’t have much to point to.

For another, it’s removed from worship because it doesn’t seem to reach peoples’ hearts. Maybe it did “back then,” goes the excuse, but not now, so other methods are needed.

So does it matter? It matters. Read through your catechism, and you’ll find all the proof you need that Jesus gives forgiveness through His means of grace.

Put that together with Jeremiah 17:9,“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (NKJV). For forgiveness, is it better to rely on God’s certain means of grace outside or your own tricky heart inside sinful you?

Again, the answer is simple.

Sure, a lot of churches that reject the Sacraments still hold onto the Word, and thanks be to God the He’s always present in His Word to save.

But isn’t worship better where God works through the plan, rather than in spite of it?

It’s a sad, funny thing that many people look at Divine Service with Word and Sacrament and leave, saying,“It’s not for me.”Truth be told, that service is for everybody more than any other. It doesn’t cater to one group or the other but gives forgiveness for all. It’s deeper and greater than you can ever comprehend, but Jesus’ presence isn’t complicated. Keep it simple. Dare to be Lutheran.

Rev.Tim Pauls is associate pastor and acting school administrator at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and School in Boise, Idaho. He is also a member of the Higher Things editorial board. His e-mail address is tpauls@goodshepherdboise.org.

S U M M E R 2 0 0 6 __ 13

First Trinity Lutheran Church,Pittsburgh,PA ✠CHRIST ON CAMPUS CHAPTERS ✠University Lutheran Church,Bloomington,IN ✠CHRIST ON CAMPUS CHAPTERS ✠Lutheran Student Fellowship,Berkeley,CA

✠ CHRIST ON CAMPUS CHAPTERS ✠ University Lutheran Chapel, Minneapolis. MN ✠ CHRIST ON CAMPUS CHAPTERS ✠ St. Andrew’s Luth We’ve heard it said before that Lutherans are good at taking care of people up through confirmation and after college but not in between. Not so! From the magazine, conferences, and Web site, you know that Higher Things is there for you in high school. Did you know we’re also there for you at college? With this article, Higher Things is excited to announce that we are launching a new column in the magazine devoted to college and everything you need to know about it—while still daring to be Lutheran. Here, Pastor Marcus Zill checks in to tell you a little bit about Higher Things’ Christ on Campus.

-The Editors

Confessing he college campus has always been a melting pot of ideas and a place to debate and discover truth. It is also no secret that the worldviews of many young Lutherans are shaped, or reshaped, between the ages of eighteen to twenty-five on college campuses. Ask any campus pastor. More students lose their faith than are strengthened in the faith during their college years.

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There is genuine concern in the Church to want to keep our young people in the faith at this formative time in their life.There is also a genuine need for the Church to have a presence in the public square and at such incubators of ideas as our public institutions of higher learning.

Clearly confessing the truth of Jesus Christ on a university campus is nothing new for Lutherans. After all, the Lutheran Church was born on the academic turf of a German university at Wittenberg when a young man named Martin Luther challenged the religious and campus community with his 95 Theses.

Yes, you could say, Martin Luther was a campus pastor!

The Lutheran Church cannot escape the campus.

Throughout her history she has not forsaken the campus.The need is too great.

As the campus ministry arm of Higher Things, Christ on Campus seeks to help young people mature in their faith at one of the most formative and crucial times of their lives and while they acquire the learning and useful skills necessary for life lived “in” but not “of” the world around them.

The college campus also provides us with a challenging training ground where young people may be equipped to live as faithful confessors of Jesus Christ and His Word. Like Athens of Acts 17, the university is a place permeated with religion. It is not a

matter of religion being on campus but which religion it is! Our young people will be ministered to, but ministered with what, and ministered to by whom?

The flat out anti-Christian attitude that exists on most campuses today is a powerful tool of Satan. Even the most grounded will find their faith tested.Those who are not incorporated in the life of the Church on campus will be incorporated elsewhere.That is ultimately the challenge.

We believe that campus ministry should not exist to serve as a Campus Crusade chapter with a Lutheran twist or as just another organization among many to provide students with free pizza. Pizza is great, but it isn’t the Gospel! The answer also doesn’t lie in some watered down generalized ecumenical involvement either, which is so common on our campuses, nor is the answer written in some new program or gimmick.

The answer is just where it has always been—in Christ’s Word and His Gospel gifts.

We at Christ on Campus seek to help our Lutheran college students remain rooted in Christ’s gifts and provide them with opportunities to deepen their knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and Lutheran doctrine at such a formative period in their lives. We want to encourage college students to apply their learning to their vocation to live in Christ by faith and in their neighbor by love. Such opportunities are boundless.

We believe that this life of God’s people on campus begins and flows from the Divine Service. Our Lord’s gifts enliven and sustain even in an environment that is often hostile to the truth of the faith we confess.

Thus, in a culture marked by pluralism, we have a unique opportunity to confess that Jesus Christ alone is “the way, the truth, and the life.” In an age of relativity, we can also gladly confess the reliability of our Lord’s words, the truth and certainty of His promises.

Of course, this separates us from almost every other philosophy of campus ministry. Needless to say,

14

y Lutheran Church, Gunnison, CO ✠ CHRIST ON CAMPUS CHAPTERS ✠ Grace Lutheran Church, Muncie, IN ✠ CHRIST ON CAMPUS CHAPTERS ✠

heran Church & Campus Center, Laramie, WY ✠ CHRIST ON CAMPUS CHAPTERS ✠

By Rev. Marcus Zill

it was the same in Wittenberg when Dr. Luther posted the 95 theses calling God’s people back to a commitment to the truth of God’s Word.

We seek to help our young people to dare to be Lutheran where God has placed them. We believe that campus ministry serves our college students and the university community best by simply being the Church. What is most profitable for college students before and after college is precisely what is most profitable for them during college!

This may seem pretty obvious, but it is easily forgotten. Such was the case in Wittenberg. The church in Wittenberg had forgotten who and what it was, why it was there, and what Christ had given it.

Before long, the church became something other than what it was meant to be. And with such a shift came a movement away from that which was originally being taught and believed. That’s why the Reformation was so important. Luther was attempting to bring the church back to the Gospel, back to Jesus. And that’s what we believe that Lutheran campus ministries should also seek to do: to bring God’s gifts of mercy to those in college.

We invite you to learn more about Christ on Campus and how you can help us help others dare to be Lutheran on campus. We look forward to providing this column and its related news and information in each issue of Higher Things to help you do just that.

May God bless us all as we seek to confess Christ on Campus, just like Lutherans have been doing since 1517.

Rev. Marcus Zill is the full-time campus pastor at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church and Campus Center in Laramie,Wyoming. He is the Executive of Christ on Campus and the coordinator for The Feast in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His e-mail address is zill@higherthings.org.

Concordia Lutheran Church & Student Center,Vermillion, SD ✠ CHRIST ON CAMPUS CHAPTERS ✠ St. Paul Lutheran Chapel & University Center, Iowa City, IA ✠ CHRIST ON CAMPUS CHAPTERS

since 1517

The purpose of Christ on Campus is to promote and facilitate the development of activities and programs consistent with the objectives of Higher Things at the campus ministry level.

Christ on Campus is: ✠ The campus ministry arm of Higher Things ✠ Comprised of pastors and laity interested in confessional Lutheran campus ministry ✠ A great source for campus ministry resources ✠ Utilizing discussion forums for college students and campus ministry workers ✠ Hosting college retreats & service opportunities ✠ A growing and developing network of campus ministry chapters

Christ on Campus Chapters Ten strong and growing daily! ✠ Concordia Lutheran Church & Student Center, Vermillion, SD ✠ Grace Lutheran Church, Muncie, IN ✠ Lutheran Campus Ministry, Knoxville, TN ✠ Lutheran Student Fellowship, Berkeley, CA ✠ Lutheran Student Fellowship, Pittsburgh, PA ✠ Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, Gunnison, CO ✠ St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church & Campus Center, Laramie, WY ✠ St. Paul’s Lutheran Chapel, Iowa City, IA ✠ University Lutheran Chapel, Minneapolis, MN ✠ University Lutheran Church & Student Center, Champaign, IL ✠ University Lutheran Church, Bloomington, IN

Upcoming Fall College Retreat Locations Dates, Themes and Speakers to be announced! ✠ University Lutheran Chapel, Boulder, CO ✠ University Lutheran Chapel, Minneapolis, MN ✠ University Lutheran Church & Student Center, Champaign, IL ✠ First Lutheran Church, Knoxville, TN

Meet TEAM CAMPUS ✠ ✠ ✠ ✠ ✠ ✠

Rev. Marcus Zill, Executive, Laramie, WY Rev. Eric Andrae, Pittsburgh, PA Rev. Peter Cage, Muncie, IN Rev. David Kind, Minneapolis, MN Rev. Prof. John Pless, Fort Wayne, IN Rev. Derek Roberts, Knoxville, TN

Learn more about Christ on Campus http://christoncampus.higherthings.org Contact the Christ on Campus Executive: Rev. Marcus Zill, zill@higherthings.org or (307) 745-5892

S U M M E R 2 0 0 6 __ 15

✠ First Lutheran Church, Knoxville, TN ✠ CHRIST ON CAMPUS CHAPTERS ✠ Mt. Calva

Sloppy Fries for

Sloppy Lives

By Kathy Luder

was in the lunch line with Molly.They were serving sloppy joes over fries, which was considered a “good”meal. It is the most palatable dish offered at our school. It was a crass tactical ploy on behalf of the cafeteria staff. Right after lunch I was headed into negotiations with Mrs. Zaftig on behalf of the student council. Mrs. Zaftig is the head lunch lady, as well as my Sunday School teacher.The student council was hoping I could get her stick to more teen-friendly fare.

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Molly was shifting from foot to foot and standing on her tip-toes, scanning the tables.

“Who are you looking for?” I asked.

“Susan. She called last night. She’s bringing Jared for a visit. Are there corn dogs today?” she said.

Our friend Susan got pregnant last summer right after her sophomore year. Her boyfriend, Mark, the star of the basketball team, is the father. Jared was born a few months ago.

“Corn dogs are bad for you,” I said.“Wasn’t Susan here last week?”

“This is where her friends are, Kathy. Where else would she be? I don’t know why you think she should be punished,” she said.

“I don’t think she should be punished,” I said.“Who puts sloppy joes over fries anyway? This is the best they can do?”

“Maybe they’re out of buns.This cafeteria is to culinary arts what Nazi death camps were to medicine.You should really let Mrs. Z have it.This is just wrong,” Molly said. She turned to me.“Why is it that whenever Susan is here you get all moody?”

“She’s here every week. It’s hardly a big event,” I said, attempting to keep the crankiness out of my voice. I tried to lighten things up.“Those sloppy fries don’t look too bad.” I maneuvered toward the serving window.

“Or a burrito?

At least with frozen burritos you know what you’re getting.” Molly looked at me.“Why shouldn’t Susan be here every week? Mark is still here. He’s still on the basketball team. He gets to walk at graduation. How come it is so different for him?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it shouldn’t be,” I said.

“Yeah? Well, maybe they should just let them both be here. Why would that be so hard? Show a little forgiveness.

They could put up a daycare. Or just let her bring Jared to class. He’s so good that it wouldn’t be that big of a deal,” she said as she placed two waxy burritos on her tray.

“You’re right. It’s not fair,” I said, gesturing to the lunch lady to give me the sloppy fries.“Jared is the cutest baby I’ve ever seen,” I admitted.

“Mrs. Zaftig is waiting,” the lunch lady said to me. I could see her sitting at her desk in her office in the back of the kitchen. I figured I might as well get it over with.

“Tell Susan I said ‘hi,’ and give Jared a kiss for me,” I said to Molly as I took my tray through the kitchen to Mrs. Zaftig’s desk.

“Hi, Kathy,” said Mrs. Zaftig with a huge smile.“What’s on

es

your mind?”

This wasn’t our first meeting.The student council always had complaints, but nothing seemed to get under Mrs. Zaftig’s skin. It was obvious she loved her job.

“Not much,” I said as I sat down with my tray on my lap.

“Some of the kids don’t like the food. Last week’s tuna meatballs weren’t very popular. Sloppy fries won’t make up for that.”

“Is something the matter—more than tuna meatballs?

You look like you’re going to be sick,” she said.

“I don’t know. I’m not hungry. ” “Not hungry! It’s sloppy fries day. Everyone loves sloppy

fries,” she said.“We’ve known each other a long time, Kathy.The kids always complain about the food.

You’re not moping because of tuna meatballs are you?”

“Susan and Jared are here.”

“Ahh,” she said.“So is that why you came straight back instead eating with Molly?”

“I guess,” I said.

“You want to tell me about it?” she said, clearing a place on her desk for my tray.

“Why am I not happy for them?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Why should you be? ” she asked.

“Susan did the right thing. She didn’t have an abortion.

Jared is a beautiful baby,” I said.

“Yes. So?” “It just doesn’t seem fair. Susan’s mom watches Jared while Susan works at the grocery store. Her parents even bought her a car. She’s smart, and she’ll get her GED three months before the rest of her class even graduates. She’s a grown-up.The kids around here act like she is a celebrity.

And nobody even cares about Mark’s part in it,” I said.

“Are you jealous?” she asked.

“No. Maybe. I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem, I don’t know, fair,” I said.

“What’s not fair?”

“Look. I am not saying that Susan should be punished.

But shouldn’t there be some consequences?” I asked.

“There have been consequences.You just don’t see them.”

“Yeah, I know. She can’t play volleyball or walk,” I said.

“That is not what I meant. Sin is always messy. It always complicates our lives. It might seem like it’d be great to be an adult early and get out of school, but Susan is missing out.”

“Yeah? What’s she missing?”

“Her childhood. High school.You think she likes working at a grocery store? She’s here so much because she misses it. She realizes what she’s lost,” she said.

“I don’t think so,” I grumbled.“It looks pretty cushy to me.”

“I bet she doesn’t enjoy the celebrity status around here as much as you think. She probably longs for her old life,” she said.

“I suppose,” I said.“It still doesn’t seem fair somehow.”

“There are two extreme reactions that Satan would enjoy. What do you think they are?” she asked.

“I know he’d love us to be harsh. He’d love us to condemn Susan and shun her.”

“Right. What is the opposite extreme?”

“He always wants us to accept sin, to pretend like it’s good.”

“Right. Now I am just a lunch lady.The faculty don’t include me, but I think they struggled with this situation.

And I think they did okay with Susan and Mark. It’s hard to find the middle ground. It’s never fair. It is rarely very satisfying. We always wish it were a little cleaner. But Susan is your sister in Christ, and her sins, no matter how great and how many, were paid for by the sacrifice and death of Christ. It may seem unfair to us that God accepts sinners, but if that were not the case then we would all be in a load of trouble, wouldn’t we?”

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s not about fair, is it?”

“I don’t have to tell you, Kathy.You were always my best Sunday School student.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Z. I’ll try harder.”

“Don’t sweat it, Kathy. You’re doing fine. Jesus loves you too,” she said, and for a split second, I felt myself on the verge of tears. Mrs. Zaftig always made me feel good, like I belonged. Suddenly she jumped up, put her arm around my shoulder and said,“Okay. No more tuna meatballs.

Problem solved. Tell the student council you won the day.

Maybe we’ll have more negotiations. I think this was good.

Now go eat lunch with your friends, and I’ll see you Sunday.”

“Thanks,” I said again and walked back to sit with Molly. As I sat down to eat, the sloppy fries didn’t look so bad after all.

S U M M E R

Kathy Luder believes grace is the best sauce of all, able even to make tuna meatballs palatable.

You can reach her at KathyLuder@hotmail.com.

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H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 18

HIGHER THINGS

News & Notes Higher Things Announces Two 2007 Conferences FOR YOU Rev. Bruce Keseman, Conferences Executive Just FOR YOU, Higher Things is hosting two—that’s right, TWO—conferences in 2007! Pick the one that works best for you, and start making plans for next summer. One conference will be in Minneapolis at the University of Minnesota on July 24-27, 2007.The other (yep, it’s also FOR YOU) will be at Ridgecrest Conference Center near Asheville, North Carolina, from July 31 to August 3, 2007. More information and registration forms will soon be available FOR YOU at the Higher Things Web site: www.higherthings.org. Oh, we almost forgot to tell you.The theme for both conferences is “FOR YOU.”

Higher Things Online Rev. George F. Borghardt III, Internet Services Executive Internet Services has been working on a master database for Higher Things that would bring the conferences, magazine, and development databases together into one database. We are looking forward to “one database to rule them all, one database to find them all.”Well, you know the rest.

We’ve also been working on putting the magazine online. Very soon you will have multiple options.You can subscribe to the magazine and still receive your copy just as you always have.You can receive and view the magazine completely online or both online and in the mail. Higher Things Online will also include all the back issues of the magazine! Higher Things magazine will be online all the time.

We are very pleased to announce that those registering for the 2007 conferences will be able to register online.You can send your paper in just like always, but you will also be able to register online, change registrants online, and even pay with your credit card online.

But although you can do everything online, you still get to go to the conference in person!

The media section is being expanded, the forums are running well, and we continue to get and have the best bloggers on the Internet. Good things are going on, and more is on the way. In fact, you'll hear in the very near future about our Big, Audacious, MegaHairy, Bodacious Idea (BAMBI). Look for more news very soon.

Christ on Campus Rev. Marcus Zill, Christ on Campus Executive Christ on Campus, the campus ministry arm of Higher Things, has a lot to offer as the new academic year grows closer.

College Retreats—There were several great regional college retreats this past spring, and there is a great lineup for this fall. See if there is one near you!

Chapters—Our new Christ on Campus Chapter program is helping to connect Lutheran campus ministries committed to providing biblical and confessional catechesis, solid liturgical practice, and faithful pastoral care.

Be sure to read our new college column in Higher Things (p. 14), and check back every issue to see what’s new with Christ on Campus.

Learn more about campus ministry done “Higher Things Style” at christoncampus.higherthings.org.

Publications Mollie Ziegler, Interim Publications Executive While our Publications Executive, Rev.Todd Peperkorn, takes a leave of absence from the magazine, we’d like to introduce you to the people who will be working on the magazine for the next couple of issues. Rev.Tim Pauls, our interim Big Cheese, will be keeping an eye on the content of the magazine, and Rev. Erik Rottmann, the interim Little Cheese, is keeping us on track with subscriptions, advertising, and layouts. Julie Stiegemeyer and Adriane Dorr are managing submissions, editing, and copyediting. And we’d also thank the others who make our editorial board fabulous: Rev. Paul Beisel, Rev. George Borghardt III, and Rev. David Petersen. And, of course, we'd be all text and no fun if it weren't for Steve Blakey, who continues to lend us his artistic talents to make the magazine look great.Thanks also to Cynthia Hall and Chris Hall who keep our subscriptions on track. Keep on the lookout for more great Higher Things magazines in upcoming months. We’ve got some great articles lined up.

If you’ve ever thought about writing for Higher Things, take a look at the “For Writers” section at the Higher Things Web site (http://higherthings.org/magazine/writers.html). We have updated theme lists and new writers’ guidelines for the 2006-07 publications.

For all The Feast attendees, we have a special offer for you!

Everyone who attends The Feast can get a $2.00 discount off of a subscription to Higher Things magazine.Take advantage of this great offer and dare to be Lutheran.You will find information for how to get your special discount in the registration materials or at The Feast.

Higher Things Announces a New Retreat Executive Landon Reed, Retreat Executive Do you go through painful withdrawal from Higher Things after each year’s conference? Do you wish you could share the Higher Things experience with friends back home who couldn’t make it to a conference? Do you wish that you could worship, study, and have a great time with other Lutherans who live nearby?

We have good news for you! Higher Things has heard your cries and has brought Landon Reed on board the Higher Things team.This energetic and creative new executive will develop a brand new branch of Higher Things retreats to be held around the country in the coming year.

Landon is a veritable expert on running retreats for youth in his home state of Texas.You want lock-ins? He’ll give you lock-ins.You want a weekend of camping and Scripture study? He’ll take care of that too. Extreme skiing? Scuba? Landon will make it happen. So if an annual conference doesn’t give you enough quality time with Higher Things, talk to Landon (retreats@higherthings.org ) about bringing a Higher Things retreat to your area—as long as it’s not during hunting season. If you catch him at The Feast, be sure to ask him about his favorite animal: possums.

S U M M E R 2 0 0 6 __ 19

MINING THE RICHES

Original art by Tom DuBois

Flood of

H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 20

H

ow distorted are our views of Noah and the great flood! How often we find children’s rooms decorated with quaint images from Noah’s ark as if the story was only about an old man and his family tending the animals while afloat in a big boat.There is nothing cute or fanciful about the Lord destroying the entire earth on account of His anger and wrath toward the sin of mankind. Perhaps our desire to make the flood more palatable is nothing more than our vain attempt to forget the wages of our sin and recreate God in an image more acceptable to the world.

From the primordial waters of life that covered the surface of the deep the Lord now used water to destroy all that He had created. His perfect creation would groan as in the pains of childbirth while those created in His image would suffer, working the land and bringing forth the one who would crush the serpent’s head.

Yet in the midst of such judgment and death, the Lord would work His gracious rescue.The Lord would bring life out of death and set the pattern of rescue that delivers us still today through such life-giving water.

Into such death the Lord brought forth life. Noah and his family came out of the ark onto dry ground and a promise,“Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. . . . I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth” (Genesis 9:11, 13 NKJV).

From death into life through water is the Lord’s way—not only for Noah but also for Moses and all of Israel as they crossed through the Red Sea on dry ground while hard-hearted Pharaoh and all his men drowned in the Red Sea. Water puts to death while at the same time it brings life. Recall the first of God’s creation—the heavens and the earth and even the waters. It is not haphazard chance that our Lord chose to rescue and redeem us through the very physical element that was created together with the crude materials that made up the first of His creation, the heavens and the earth. The water, part of God’s first creative work, even before the first day of creation, is the means by which He will recreate His fallen children by joining them to His death, burial, and resurrection in the washing of Holy Baptism! God would not have chosen another means to rescue us.

Grace!

Rev. J. Bart Day

All this death and life-bearing water flows into the banks of the Jordan River where Jesus is baptized by John.

Ever since the day John baptized Jesus, our Lord has been found in the water.

He locates Himself there for you.

Flowing through the desert of repentance is this liquid of life. There your conscience, which burns with the heat of sins committed, finds the soothing coolness of sins forgiven. There your heart, which is dried and cracked under the blazing sun of the Law, finds shade and refreshment in the shadow of the cross. There your mouth, which is parched from the confession of sins, is filled with the sweet drink of the compassion of God. Our Lord is found in the river of Absolution. Come to Him. Drink of Him. Bathe, swim, soak in this fountain of immortality.

Here is the great paradox of God. The signs of death are signs of life for us.There is no way to live other than through the death of Jesus.We are all dying; we can either die alone, or we can die in Jesus whose death brings life.

And His life is joined forever to water.

As Noah and his family came off the ark of salvation, the Lord

commanded them to sacrifice a burnt offering to the Lord. As the burning flesh ascended into heaven, the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in His heart,“I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake . . . nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done” (Genesis 8:21 NKJV).

In our stead, the infant Jesus came willingly and lovingly to taste death for us.The curse had to be undone once and for all. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written:“Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree” (Galatians 3:13 NKJV).Your Lord has been baptized in blood, sprinkled on the font of the cross by His own sliced veins when a soldier braced himself and thrust his cruel spear upward into the side of our blood-bathed God. So when you desire life and forgiveness, go to the blood and water for without blood there is no forgiveness.

The life of God is in the blood of His Son and that life-giving blood is in the chalice, the font, Absolution. Go there for forgiveness. Go there for life. Go there for God. Death has been swallowed up in victory. Wood and water have become for us life and salvation.

Rev. J. Bart Day is associate pastor and headmaster of Memorial Lutheran Church and School in Houston,Texas..

He would like to thank Rev. Chad L. Bird and Rev. Harold L. Senkbeil for some of the thoughts expressed here.

You can e-mail Pastor Day at revday@mlchouston.org.

About the Artist: Tom DuBois is a freelance artist and member of Memorial Lutheran Church, Houston, Texas. We were happy to receive this artwork and look forward to more in the future.

Luther's Flood Prayer Almighty and eternal God, according to Your strict judgment You condemned the unbelieving world through the flood, yet according to Your great mercy You preserved believing Noah and his family, eight souls in all. You drowned hard-hearted Pharaoh and all his host in the Red Sea, yet led Your people Israel through the water on dry ground, foreshadowing this washing of Your Holy Baptism.

Through the Baptism in the Jordan of Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, You sanctified and instituted all waters to be a blessed flood and a lavish washing away of sin.

We pray that You would behold name(s) according to Your boundless mercy and bless him/her/them with true faith by the Holy Spirit, that through this saving flood all sin in him/her/them, which has been inherited from Adam and which he himself / she herself / they themselves has/have committed since, would be drowned and die. Grant that he/she/they be kept safe and secure in the holy ark of the Christian Church, being separated from the multitude of unbelievers and serving Your name at all times with a fervent spirit and a joyful hope, so that, with all believers in Your promise, he/she/they would be declared worthy of eternal life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. (501)

Luther’s Flood Prayer from the Lutheran Service Book, translation © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.

Used with permission. All rights reserved.

For more information on the Lutheran Service Book, please visit the following Website http://lsb.cph.org or contact CPH directly at 800-325-3040.

S U M M E R 2 0 0 6 __ 21

S

PEOPLE ARE LIKE

P

O N

G H I G H E R T H I N G S __

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by Zachary Stuckwisch

J

ust after teaching His disciples the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus said, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14–14 ESV).Those sound like simple instructions for earning God’s forgiveness, right? But that can’t be right. As Christians we believe that we can’t earn our own forgiveness of sins. And as long as we are being honest with ourselves, we should also realize that we don’t always like to forgive those who sin against us.

When a sponge is dry, it’s just a worthless rag.That’s what all of us are like without Christ.

What do you do with a dry sponge? You get it wet. God does the same thing with us in our Baptism. He drowns us, killing our sins and evil desires, and brings us back to life in Christ. Since He is sinless, our sins are removed through Baptism. We are no longer hard, dry sponges but wet ones. In baptismal water, God forgives our sins before we try to do anything for Him or anyone else. He freely gives us forgiveness of sins, and we have as little choice in the matter as a dry sponge has to get put into water.

After we get a sponge wet, what do we usually do with it? Most of the time we take the water-logged sponge and use it to wash something or to slosh the water around. God does something similar with us. After He washes us in our Baptism and fills us with Himself, He uses us to spread Himself around.This can be done when we forgive people, since Christ’s death gained forgiveness for the whole world.

Of course, we aren’t baptized only for the sake of showing His forgiveness to others. We are baptized because Christ died for and forgives us, and Baptism is one of the places where we receive that blessing. We should also not forget that God can even use people who haven’t been baptized to spread His gifts.

He doesn’t need us to do anything.

Then what about the Fifth Petition—”Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”? God never contradicts Himself, but He’s the one who gave it to us, and He’s the one that forgives us before we can forgive anyone else. Here’s a helpful way to look at it: God knows that you are sinful and that on your own you will probably not forgive your neighbor. Because of that, He gives you His forgiveness first, so that in Him we forgive others. We ought to look at Christ’s explanation

of the Fifth Petition in reverse order.Your heavenly Father forgives you in Christ, so that you will then forgive your neighbor. In the catechism Martin Luther wrote,“We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look at our sins, or deny our prayer because of them. We are neither worthy of the things for which we pray, nor have we deserved them, but we ask that He would give them all to us by grace, for we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment. So we too will sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us.”

It is good to pay attention to the sentence, “we daily sin much and deserve nothing but punishment.” After you get a sponge wet, it dries out pretty fast. Since we’re like sponges, you can bet that even after Baptism, we don’t always forgive our neighbor. We ought to return to our Baptism daily in contrition and repentance through the Word of God and the Sacraments.

That’s how God continues to keep us in a state of forgiveness, just like we keep a sponge wet by continually dipping it in water.

In heaven, we will be eternally and perfectly in Christ. For a sponge, that would be like living in a huge ocean of perfect water that never dries up. Jesus said,“‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13–14 ESV).

Thanks be to God! Zachary Stuckwisch lives in South Bend, Indiana, with his mom, dad, and six younger siblings.This fall he will be a senior in homeschool high school. He’s a big fan of Higher Things and enjoys writing.You can contact him via e-mail at thepashapook@excite.com.

Ultimate Event

The

C

hrist Academy is a two-week residential program for high-school-aged men, founded by Concordia Theological Seminary. It is a place where students can study about Christ who is present in His Word and Sacraments and who died that their sins would be forgiven. It is a place where students can experience seminary life.

It is a place where students can explore the possibility of some day becoming a pastor. ✠ ✠ ✠ ✠ ✠

Worship, the Center of the Experience Life-Changing Studies Clarity of Direction Fun Activities June 18-July 1, 2006

For more information, please call:

1-800-481-2155 www.ctsfw.edu ChristAcademy@ctsfw.edu

S U M M E R 2 0 0 6 __ 23

The

Lutheran Relationship: “It’s Complicated” with Facebook.com

By Tyler Williams

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H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 24

hen we turn on the radio, watch the television, go to school, try on new shoes, or read a new book or magazine, we are faced with one common thread that has connected human societies since the beginning of time. Popular culture—with changing styles and fashionable pleasures—tempts Lutheran youth to compromise the truths found in the Holy Scriptures. In its place, it offers hollow and fleeting contemporary trends.

Today’s popular trend is being a part of Internet sites like Facebook.com and MySpace.com, where high school and college students can interact by sharing information about themselves and by gathering up lists of friends to create what many are calling their personal online “social network”.

And many means many. Facebook.com is reporting that 85 percent of college students at supported schools are members on the site, and three out of five students in those colleges log on every day.

With this super-popular pop culture phenomenon, Lutheran students must decide how—if possible—they can be a part of the wave of youth logging on.

Lutherans must realize first that these Internet networks are an extension of the already troubling society in which we live. Secularism, humanism, homosexuality, and alcoholism often temporarily satisfy our sinful, worldly appetites, and it is not any different on these Web sites.

And sin is all over Facebook and MySpace.

On Facebook.com, students have the option of indicating that they desire a relationship with a man or a woman or both. When it comes to romantic relationships, the site places heavy emphasis on relationship status, even allowing persons to post if they are interested in a relationship or just “random play.”

For many, the site does not serve any purpose other than self-glorification and indulgence in sinful personal gratification. Many act egotistically and use the site to market themselves to others, often promoting their tastes, their abilities, and their characteristics to sell their name to the world.

They forget about their higher purpose on earth: to receive the gifts of God, not the glory of men.

Is it that Facebook and other similar sites are worse that the society around us?

Can we avoid these evils by not logging onto Facebook?

Whether we log on to these sites or not, we are all guilty of these sins. We have served ourselves, not God. We do what is best for our-

selves, and we forget about our purpose. It is the world that is plagued by the chronic condition of sin. It’s just that Facebook, with its organized interpretation of what’s popular, shows us the deeply infected society in which we live.

In fact, according to the site’s “Pulse” section, which determines what is most popular in pop culture based on student profiles, The Da Vinci Code—a book that mocks Christianity and blasphemes Jesus Christ—is the most popular book among Facebook subscribers.

With all of the negative aspects of these social networks, should Christians be a part of this latest craze? The apostle John wrote in John 15:19,“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (ESV). While we are expected to live in the world and be a part of its society, God calls us through His Word to live above the worldly standard.

Being a part of Facebook-like Web sites—much like our interaction with others in society—is not wrong in and of itself. But the Christian must ask himself if his actions in society are helpful to himself and those around him.The Christian must question whether or not he participates in these social networks for the right reasons. And the Christian should avoid the evils that are common among groups and users of sites like Facebook and MySpace.

Another idea is to leave the sites altogether and search for a non-secular Web site for online interaction and friends.

Higher Things has created a new alternative site for Lutheran students where the focus is different.The Higher Things forum (http://forum.higherthings.org/) is a site where you can create your own profile, discuss issues with other Lutherans, or just chat about anything going on in life.

Unfortunately, being pure and without sin is hopeless for us all, like a terminal illness.The only cure is forgiveness by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior, who lived a life free of sin and gave Himself on Calvary for our sake. Because of Jesus Christ, we now live with the knowledge that our sins are forgiven not by anything we have done, but because we have become heirs of salvation having the hope of eternal life.

Tyler Williams is a preseminary student at Concordia University Wisconsin and is studying theological languages and philosophy. He serves on the editorial staff of the student newspaper, The Concordia Beacon. E-mail him at Tyler.Williams@cuw.edu.

AABunch Bunch ofof Do-Do Do-Do

By Rev. Craig Donofrio

II

woke up at about 7 a.m. to get ready for church. Looking out the window, I noticed that we were having quite an ice storm.

I decided that since Jesus was going to be at church, I as the pastor should also go. But first I needed to hit the snooze button for an extra seven minutes of much needed sleep.

The phone rang and woke me from my brief slumber. It was my head elder.

He said that all the churches in the area were closing due to the weather. He asked me if we should follow suit. I gathered my thoughts and said it may be better to cancel church today than do a bunch of funerals this week for those who had driven into ditches. I felt some sort of sinful relief, rolled over, and went back to sleep for another hour.

I woke up at 8 a.m. and turned on the radio. As I channel surfed, I had the opportunity to listen to all sorts of preachers. All I can say about them is they were a bunch of do-do.

You may be thinking that is harsh or at least that my spelling is one “o” off, but you only caught one of the meanings. As I listened to preachers, including Billy Graham,“pope of the protestants,” all I heard was how Christians need to do this or do that or do some other thing in order to be pleasing to God. I heard about how I had to be more giving of myself, how I needed to have a love for justice, and how I need to show God’s forgiveness by my decisions and public professions. What a bunch of do-do!

Do-do appeals to us since we like to insert ourselves into our salvation, and when we do, we frolic in our do-do. It is man’s nature to love do-do, for we are totally turned in on ourselves. Being turned in on ourselves, we find that faith is not a gift but something we do-do.

God’s Word tells us that we are sinners in all that we are and in all that we do and that we have nothing in and of ourselves that is appealing or meritorious before God. We confess in this that we need to be salvaged from our sinfulness; we need to be raised from the death of our sins to eternal life.

We also find that we dead men cannot raise ourselves from the dead, but we need a Savior to raise us.

With this comes a theology of done-done. Jesus has done our salvation for us. Jesus has done for us the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. Jesus alone has conquered death and sin as we could not do that for ourselves.

When our faith is looking in on ourselves, we hear “Do this and do that,” and we hear sermons of do-do. Do love your neighbor, do give your time and

money, do give your heart to Jesus. Do, do, do. And when we are told to do, we are directed not outward toward Jesus but inward to our own sinful hearts. But what comes out of the heart of man? Nothing but sin, as Matthew 15:19 reminds us,“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (ESV).

To be sure, pastors have a responsibility to instruct baptized Christians in holy living. However, they rob their hearers of peace and comfort when they only talk about do-do and never about done-done.

When we are told “do this” or “do that,” we will never have peace, for this sort of do-do is about what we do. But when we hear done-done for you and for your salvation, then we find rest for we find our salvation is not up to us, but it is already done and fulfilled in Jesus Christ from the cross and through the resurrection.

Rev. Craig Donofrio is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Pasadena, California. At the time that this article was written, he lived in Missouri where the ice storm took place.You can e-mail Pastor Donofrio at Freudenmeister1@aol.com.

S U M M E R 2 0 0 6 __ 25

’m not a fan of Kiefer Sutherland. Never have been. I don’t know what it is about him. He just rubs me the wrong way.

Maybe that’s why he’s great as Jack Bauer on the hit FOX TV show 24. Just because of him, I managed to avoid the show for four years. But then a friend convinced me to give it a shot. I haven’t missed it once since then.

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By Sandra Ostapowich

H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 26

Basically, the show centers on the work of the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) headquarters in Los Angeles on a day in which a major national crisis is threatening to erupt into a major national tragedy. Each one-hour episode is one hour of that day.

One thing that really stands out about 24 is the graphic nature of the show. Not all that long ago, similar violence would earn a movie an “R” rating, or at least a “PG-13” one. When they say,“Viewer Discretion Advised” at the beginning of each show, they mean it! This means that, according to the Fourth Commandment, you aren’t to watch this show without your parents’ permission or against their will.

This show doesn’t pull any punches.

Neither side hesitates to torture or kill their enemies, and the body count is high. In America, we’re normally safe and shielded. It’s startling, even

disturbing, to see depictions of that kind of violence in your own living room, even if it is on TV. Why are we so shocked? The show is certainly written this way intentionally, playing on all our emotions.

It’s a rare feat, but the writers of the show have kept up the energy for five seasons now. I read in one place that they supposedly only write half the season’s shows ahead of time, so that the plot line can reflect real-world developments that take place during the year.

They know that despite our desire to pretend otherwise, the real world is often graphic too.

It’s messy, violent, vicious, cruel, and a whole list of other horrific things. Let’s face it: we live in a world that has been racked by sin, and as a result, it is a twisted shadow of what God created it to be. Everything has been corrupted, and shows like 24 remind us of how evil man has become. There’s a part of us that is

drawn into this gruesome display against our will, waiting to see just how bad things can get.

But situations like that are also where heroes are made. On TV shows, someone eventually steps in and keeps things from getting to their worst imaginable low. Jack Bauer may be the main character and he often saves the day (or rather hour), but he also can be as vicious and cold as the bad guys he’s chasing—especially if he catches one. Jack is no Jesus. He’s not going to get through a day—or an hour, for that matter—without sinning in his quest to do good. And he’s going to save by making other people die.

You have a better Savior, who died instead of you. What they do on 24 is nothing compared to the suffering and pain of what our Lord went through winning our salvation. As Christians, we know that this life and the tragedies of it aren’t the end of the story. We know that despite the suffering and tragedy involved with living in this world, we deserve an eternity of much, much worse. We sin all

the time just like everyone else, Christian or not.

We may not murder or torture anyone, but we hurt others and fail to tend to their bodily needs.

Every day we sin against others, intentionally and unintentionally. We aren’t really any better than those TV characters whose actions we condemn.

Thank God we have forgiveness in Jesus’ suffering and death for us!

I’m still not a fan of Kiefer Sutherland. But I like 24. I really don’t like extreme violence on my TV, but the twists and turns of the plot lines just draw me in.

There’s a reason the show begins with,“Viewer Discretion Advised.” It’s not for everybody. But Christ’s death is.

Sandra Ostapowich is the Christian Education and Youth Director at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Loveland, Colorado. She is also the Secretary of the Higher Things Board of Directors. Check out other things she’s written at blog.higherthings.org/madre or e-mail her at Ostapowich@higherthings.org.

S U M M E R 2 0 0 6 __ 27

Open Book Who was Joyce Kilmer? William Blake? Mary Howitt? Who wrote “The World is Too Much With Us”? “Not in Vain”? “Grass”? Here’s an easier list. Who is Natalie Portman? Matthew McConaughey?

Joaquin Phoenix? Keira Knightley?

You knew all the movie stars, but the authors and their works were probably a little trickier.

Why is it that teenagers prefer to watch movies instead of read? Is it because you can’t read or because you simply don’t want to? Is it because watching movies is easier?

As Lutherans, we are constantly searching for the truth in a world that wants to overcome us with lies.To discern between the two requires knowledge.You’re old enough to know that you can’t rely on emotional responses or out-ofbody experiences or visions. So you’re going to have to think instead.You’ll need to read.You might do some contemplating.There will a lot of information to absorb. But you’ll learn, and that’s something that’s awfully hard to do that when you’re constantly glued to the TV screen.

Staring at a TV doesn’t involve much thought. For the most part, watching sitcoms and movies requires a minimal amount of effort on our part. Someone else has already done all the work for us. Authors write the script.

Graphic designers visualize the scenery. Actors portray character roles.Technical directors at TV stations push buttons. We sit, and occasionally we move our hand from the popcorn bowl to our mouth.

When reading books, however, we get involved. We H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 28

use our imagination. We study the written word on the page. We make logical connections. We exercise our brains. Reading stretches us in ways that visual stimulation cannot. Reading will almost always cultivate and engage the mind.

Watching old reruns probably won’t.That is why your pastor doesn’t show clips of The Passion of the Christ during the Divine Service. He reads the Gospel to you.They’re not of equal value.

Reading is an important part of being a Christian. Our faith reaches out and clings to the words written down in the Bible.

Everything we know of our Lord

Open Mind

By Adriane Dorr

comes to us in the words He has spoken, the words that men took pen in hand to put down on paper. But the Holy Spirit didn’t inspire men to write the Bible stoically.These men made use of all different kinds of writing styles and types.They wrote historically and poetically and used dialogue and letters.

Martin Luther quickly recognized the value of the written word. During the Reformation, he translated the Bible into the language of the people, making it accessible for their own study and use.

By giving a physical copy of God’s Word to the people, they could read the truth on their own. It was a vital part of sustaining people’s faith then, and it is still important for you today.

That doesn’t mean that your reading options

are limited to the Bible or your catechism.There’s a pile of good literature just waiting for you to read it.You loved Keira Knightley in Pride and Prejudice.

So read the book.You liked Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line. Dig into a Johnny Cash biography.

You’re already doing better than the majority of your friends by opening this magazine. Don’t stop.

Dive into news magazines, a copy of your pastor’s sermon, books about World War II, essays on science fiction stuff, or a book on how to decorate your bedroom.

The Lord has given you a mind that is capable of sorting through and understanding a wide variety of subjects. Use it. Read a science magazine, and enjoy the descriptions of God’s creation.Thumb through a historical novel, and recall how the Lord has cared for His people since the beginning of time. Lose yourself in The Grapes of Wrath, and learn to view its content with a critical eye. Decide why The Da Vinci Code isn’t Christian.

Discover the Lutheran aspects of C. S. Lewis’ God in the Dock. Stop by your local bookstore, grab a cup of hot chocolate, and do some browsing. Read to learn. Read for fun. All of this will cultivate your Lutheran worldview.

Lutherans are thinkers, and thinkers are readers. Enjoy a movie now and then for fun with friends, but don’t miss out on reading a good book. Dabble in a little of everything—theology, history, British literature, science, you name it.Your brain can handle it. In fact, it’ll probably thank you.

Adriane Dorr is the assistant editor for Higher Things and will pursue a graduate degree at Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne in the fall. She is the editorial assistant for Higher Things.

Her e-mail address is adrianedorr@yahoo.com.

S U M M E R 2 0 0 6 __ 29

A Quick Fast J

H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 30

by Rev. David Petersen

esus promises to be present for us in the Sacrament of the Altar. We eat His body and drink His blood. He forgives our sins and joins us to Himself.That union is not to be entered into lightly, for even though Jesus gives us this for our good, it can be rejected.The body and blood of Jesus are harmful to the soul if taken without discernment. St. Paul writes that whosoever “eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Corinthians 11:27–29 ESV).

This is why we prepare ourselves for Holy Communion.To be truly worthy and well-prepared is to have faith in these words:“Give and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” God gives us faith in these words through these words. We hear them, and by God’s grace, we believe them. We trust them.These words prepare us to receive the body and blood of Jesus.Thus prepared we receive what He has promised and what He wants to give: forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

The main preparation for Communion is done in the worship service.The most essential preparation is to hear the Words of Who receives this Institution. No one should receive the body and blood without first How do you fast? sacrament worthily? hearing these words. If you get to church so late that you walk in during the distribution, don’t go to Communion. But what if you get Fasting means not to Fasting and there just a little late so that you miss the opening hymn and the eat. It is normally done bodily preparation general Confession and Absolution? Some would abstain from by skipping meals. are certainly fine Communion because of this. It is not necessary; you may decide to Some Christians will outward training. But wait. It is up to you. As valuable as Confession and Absolution are for fast during Advent or that person is truly Communion, they are not the essential thing.The essential thing for Lent by skipping lunch worthy and well preparation is the words of Jesus:“Given and shed for you for the and spending the time prepared who has forgiveness of sins.” they would normally faith in these words: Not everything in the worship service is essential or absolutely eat in prayer and study.

“Given and shed for necessary to prepare for Communion. Neither is there any preparaWhen they feel the mild you for the forgiveness tion done outside of worship that is essential or absolutely necessary. hunger pains of the of sins.” But anyone Nonetheless Luther teaches us that fasting and bodily preparation afternoon, it reminds who does not believe are a fine outward training. St. Paul knew this. He wrote that he them to thank God for these words or doubts disciplined his body to keep it under control (1 Corinthians 9:27). all He has done for them is unworthy and Jesus seems to expect that Christians will fast. He said,“When you them in Jesus Christ. unprepared, for the fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their Many Christians will words “for you” require faces that their fasting may be seen by others.Truly, I say to you, they also fast in some small all hearts to believe. have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and way before receiving wash your face” (Matthew 6:16–17 ESV).

Holy Communion. This -Luther’s Small Fasting and bodily preparation are not necessary for a worthy can be as simple as Catechism Communion. All that is necessary is faith, but fasting and bodily skipping breakfast on preparation can be helpful. Faith does not live silently in the heart.

Sunday morning so “With the heart one believes and is justified, and with the that your first food of mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:10 ESV). the week is the Body Faith lives and moves and confesses. Faith rules the lips and and Blood of Jesus. the body and brings it into control. What happens to the body affects faith. Fasting before receiving Communion is meant to discipline our hungers and to remind ourselves of our frailty. What we need is not food for the stomach but food for the soul. What we need is Jesus, the bread of life, who gives Himself to us for food in the Holy Communion.

Rev. David Petersen is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and is also on the Higher Things editorial board.

His e-mail address is David.H.Petersen@att.net.

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Redeemer Lutheran Church • 202 West Rudisill Blvd. • Fort Wayne, Indiana 46807-2498

Asheville, NC July 31-August 3, 2007

A Higher Things Lutheran Youth Conference Minneapolis, MN July 24-July 27, 2007

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The Gospel is not just that Jesus died.The Gospel is that Jesus died FOR YOU.The Good News of Easter isn't only that Jesus rose, but that Jesus rose FOR YOU. On the Cross, Jesus won forgiveness, life, and salvation FOR YOU.Then, as if that wasn't enough good news, on the third day, He rose FOR YOU. It's not just a nice idea; it's personal. FOR YOU makes the Good News very good news indeed!

At Higher Things, we think the proclamation "FOR YOU" delivers so much Gospel that we've decided to make "FOR YOU" the theme for next summer's two conferences. Next year, Higher Things is more than doubling the capacity of our annual conferences by offering one "FOR YOU" in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from July 24-27, 2007, and the next week, one more "FOR YOU" in Asheville, North carolina, from July 31August 3, 2007.

Online registration FOR YOU opens on August 1, 2006 and will close on February 28, 2007* or when capacity is reached for each conference, whichever happens first.

• Groups that took advantage of the "Last Shall Be First" offer or Early Pre-Registration may have unique deadlines. Please refer to your materials for further information.

Use of LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center for this event does not imply alignment with or endorsement by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Join us in Minneapolis or Asheville!

“A Bunch of Do-Do” Pastor Timothy Schellenbach Bible Study Leader’s Guide I.

“I heard about how I had to be more giving of myself, how I needed to have a love for justice, and how I need to show God’s forgiveness by my decisions and public professions. What a bunch of do-do!”

A. Is any of the things the author was told to “do” bad in itself?

Of course not. The faith is to be lived out, and part of that is doing the things listed above. Of course, some radio preachers might have odd or socialistic ideas about what “a love for justice” or “being more giving of oneself” means, but in general, these things sound like wholesome advice.

B. What is Pastor Donofrio’s objection to this list of “do-do”?

They have taken the place of the Gospel at the center of Christian preaching. While God’s Word does tell us in the Law what to do and not do, such things aren’t what Christianity is fundamentally all about.

C. Read Ephesians 2:8-9. What does Paul say about a message whose main point is “do-do”?

We have been saved by grace through faith, not by works. It’s something God did, not what we did.

II.

“Do-do appeals to us since we like to insert ourselves into our salvation, and when we do, we frolic in our do-do. It is man’s nature to love do-do, for we are totally turned in on ourselves.”

A. When we “insert ourselves into our salvation,” who can we then thank and praise for it?

We end up thanking and praising ourselves along with God. Consider how often the words “I” and “me” are used in songs commonly sung in churches where “do-do” is preached.

B. Who alone is to be worshiped according to the First Commandment?

The Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

C. What does this imply about our thanking and praising ourselves for our own do-do?

It’s idolatry, idolatry directed toward the false trinity of “me, myself, and I.” D. Read Luke 18:9-14. Which character in the parable is involved in his own “do-do”? Which one ends up praising himself when he claims he is praising God? The Pharisee, of course. He starts out, “I thank you . . .” but then goes on and tells God about his own do-doings.

III.

“With this comes a theology of done-done. Jesus has done our salvation for us. Jesus has done for us the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. Jesus alone has conquered death and sin as we could not do that for ourselves.”

A. The other problem with do-do theology is that nobody can do it all. What happens then to a person’s spiritual life?

Possibly, despair. If my relationship to God is dependent to some extent on myself, I can’t do it right all the time. And therefore why bother.

B. What is the only way out of that trap?

The theology of “done-done” mentioned above. If we can’t do anything right, the only theology which helps is the one in which Christ has done it all for us.

C. Read John 19:30. How does this Word from the Cross comfort us with the theology of “done-done”?

“It is finished” is more than simply a pathetic statement of, “The suffering is over, I got through it.” It’s a triumphant victory cry in which Jesus says that everything necessary for our salvation has been accomplished. “It is finished” can also be translated, “It is accomplished,” or “It is fulfilled.” Our salvation is complete. It’s done. Nothing we can do can add to it, and nothing we can do can mess it up. It is finished.

“A Bunch of Do-Do” Pastor Timothy Schellenbach Bible Study I.

II.

III.

“I heard about how I had to be more giving of myself, how I needed to have a love for justice, and how I need to show God’s forgiveness by my decisions and public professions. What a bunch of do-do!”

A. Is any of the things the author was told to “do” bad in itself?

B.

What is Pastor Donofrio’s objection to this list of “do-do”?

C.

Read Ephesians 2:8-9. What does Paul say about a message whose main point is “do- do”?

“Do-do appeals to us since we like to insert ourselves into our salvation, and when we do, we frolic in our do-do. It is man’s nature to love do-do, for we are totally turned in on ourselves.”

A. When we “insert ourselves into our salvation,” who can we then thank and praise for it?

B.

Who alone is to be worshiped according to the First Commandment?

C.

What does this imply about our thanking and praising ourselves for our own do-do?

D.

Read Luke 18:9-14. Which character in the parable is involved in his own “do-do”? Which one ends up praising himself when he claims he is praising God?

“With this comes a theology of done-done. Jesus has done our salvation for us. Jesus has done for us the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. Jesus alone has conquered death and sin as we could not do that for ourselves.”

A. The other problem with do-do theology is that nobody can do it all. What happens then to a person’s spiritual life?

B.

What is the only way out of that trap?

C.

Read John 19:30. How does this Word from the Cross comfort us with the theology of “done-done”?

“Dare to Be Simple” Pastor Timothy Schellenbach Bible Study Leaders' Guide I.

II.

III.

Pastor Pauls compares two different models of repairing damage to a human being.

A. Which one does he compare to the way Christians (including Lutherans) have worshiped historically?

Why? The surgery. Surgery, while sometimes complex and messy, uses objective tools which produce the same effect on everyone with the same injury. They also don’t require the person to cooperate in his own healing. This compares best with Word and Sacraments oriented worship. Every sinner needs the Law. Every repentant sinner needs the Gospel. Bringing to repentance and bringing to faith are things that God does in a person, not things the person does to better himself.

B. Which one does he compare to the way many modern Christians worship, especially those in “Evangelical” churches and churches that claim to use “contemporary style”? Why? The psychotherapy. Where the power of God’s Word of Law and Gospel, both spoken and attached to visible means, is not emphasized, there are no external, objective tools. Worship becomes more like counseling where one approach and then another is tried in order to motivate the person to help himself.

C. Which one better reflects Luther’s insight that “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him” (Catechism, Creed, 3rd Article Explanation)?

The surgery, in which the doctor applies objective tools to the injury without the patient’s help, is more closely in line with the fact that we can’t do anything for our salvation, but God does it all through the Word and Sacraments.

Pastor Pauls observes that in churches which use the “psychology” approach to worship, there is a huge variety of styles and methods that are employed.

A. Is such a variety of styles and techniques better suited to the care of an individual or of a large group of people?

It’s better suited to the care of an individual, because with an individual one can evaluate what “works,” what doesn’t, and change strategies accordingly.

B. In what context, however, does “worship” normally take place?

In a group context, whether small or large. Most centrally in the Sunday morning gathering (the Divine Service in liturgical Lutheran churches), but also in family or school groups that gather for devotions.

C. What problem does the “counseling” approach to worship have, then?

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to custom-tailor techniques to individuals when the worshiping community is so large and diverse. What appeals to one, what “works” for one, isn’t going to work for someone else.

And so constant variety will exhaust both leaders and congregation, until one suffers burnout and the other finds the church down the street that does it better or more in line with their own personal “style.”

Pastor Pauls notes that it’s better to rely on something outside yourself than inside yourself when what is at stake is the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

A. What does the catechism say about the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh? (Hint: Lord’s Prayer, Sixth Petition) “We pray in this petition that the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice.” In other words, our own sinful flesh is not a reliable source of reassurance regarding the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Instead it’s a source of false belief and despair.

B. Why is the objective, “surgical” nature of the Word and Sacraments so beneficial, then?

Because it doesn’t change. The message is the same from Sunday to Sunday, and that message is about salvation as a free gift. It can be relied upon and trusted in a way that whatever is going on inside our own hearts cannot.

“Dare to Be Simple” Pastor Timothy Schellenbach Bible Study I.

Pastor Pauls compares two different models of repairing damage to a human being.

A. Which one does he compare to the way Christians (including Lutherans) have worshiped historically?

Why?

B. Which one does he compare to the way many modern Christians worship, especially those in “Evangelical” churches and churches that claim to use “contemporary style”? Why?

C. Which one better reflects Luther’s insight that “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him” (Catechism, Creed, 3rd Article Explanation)?

II.

III.

Pastor Pauls observes that in churches which use the “psychology” approach to worship, there is a huge variety of styles and methods that are employed.

A. Is such a variety of styles and techniques better suited to the care of an individual or of a large group of people?

B.

In what context, however, does “worship” normally take place?

C.

What problem does the “counseling” approach to worship have, then?

Pastor Pauls notes that it’s better to rely on something outside yourself than inside yourself when what is at stake is the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

A. What does the catechism say about the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh? (Hint: Lord’s Prayer, Sixth Petition)

B.

Why is the objective, “surgical” nature of the Word and Sacraments so beneficial, then?

“It’s Complicated” Pastor Jeffrey A. Ahonen Bible Study Leaders' Guide I.

II.

Tyler Williams warns us about a cultural phenomenon that can easily entangle the Christian in the sins of others, or entangle others in our sins.

A. Read Genesis 20:1-18. According to verse 9, what does Abimelech say about how Abraham and Sarah’s sin resulted in his own guilt?

“What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom?” The consequences of the deceit of Abraham and Sarah extended to Abimelech, who sinned by marrying another man's wife, even though he did not know it. The consequences also fell upon the entire kingdom, which honored (unknowingly) the illegitimate marriage of Abimelech to Sarah.

B.

Read Revelation 18:1-5. What declaration does God’s angel make to Christians concerning their participation in the sins of the surrounding culture?

The angel calls Christ's people to come out of Babylon, which is a symbol for the sinful world, so that “you will not share in her sins,” nor “receive any of her plagues” that God will send in judgment for the world’s sins. It is not a call to disengage from the world, but a call to avoid becoming engaged in the world’s sin.

C.

Read 2 Peter 2:20-21. What is the special warning about sin’s entanglement that Peter gives to Christians of all times and places?

Those who knowingly return to the “pollutions of the world” (NKJV) and again become entangled in them will be worse off than those who never knew the way of righteousness. The implication is that such people will face a stricter condemnation for having known the truth and then rejecting it.

Jesus Christ promises us a countercultural life, free of sin's entanglement, that is truly phenomenal!

A. Read 1 Peter 1:18-19 and compare it with Genesis 20:14-16. What does Abimelech pay to Abraham as the price for his sin? What does Jesus pay to redeem us from our sins?

Abimelech pays with animals, servants, and silver. These are symbolic of the true redemption that Christ paid for the sin of Abimelech, Abraham, and you. Jesus redeems us not with gold or silver, but the Lamb of God sheds His priceless blood to serve us with the forgiveness of sin and salvation.

B.

Read Revelation 7:9-17 and compare it with Revelation 18:1-4. What comfort does Revelation 7 (particularly verse 14) bring to the Christian who is convicted of his participation in the sins of others?

Revelation 7:14 contains a marvelous allusion to Holy Baptism. In baptism, the sinner's filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) are washed in the blood of Christ Jesus and are declared spotless. All sins and all guilt are washed away (1 Peter 3:21). To symbolize the reality that the baptized one has “put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27), the wearing of a white garment is a part of the traditional baptism rite.

C.

Read 2 Timothy 2:3-4 in the New King James Version and compare it with Hebrews 11:6. How do these verses support Mr. Williams’ claim that the Christian’s “higher purpose on earth [is] to receive the gifts of God”?

The good soldier of Jesus Christ avoid the entanglements of this life and seeks to please Him (2 Timothy 2), but it is only by faith that Christ is pleased with us (Hebrews 11). Faith comes solely by means of the Holy Word (Romans 10:17), Holy Baptism (Colossians 2:12), and The Holy Supper (1 Corinthians 11).

Thus, receiving God's gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation through the means of Word and Sacrament is the highest form of Christian worship.

“It’s Complicated” Pastor Jeffrey A. Ahonen Bible Study I.

II.

Tyler Williams warns us about a cultural phenomenon that can easily entangle the Christian in the sins of others, or entangle others in our sins.

A.

Read Genesis 20:1-18. According to verse 9, what does Abimelech say about how Abraham and Sarah’s sin resulted in his own guilt?

B.

Read Revelation 18:1-5. What declaration does God’s angel make to Christians concerning their participation in the sins of the surrounding culture?

C.

Read 2 Peter 2:20-21. What is the special warning about sin’s entanglement that Peter gives to Christians of all times and places?

Jesus Christ promises us a countercultural life, free of sin's entanglement, that is truly phenomenal!

A.

Read 1 Peter 1:18-19 and compare it with Genesis 20:14-16. What does Abimelech pay to Abraham as the price for his sin? What does Jesus pay to redeem us from our sins?

B.

Read Revelation 7:9-17 and compare it with Revelation 18:1-4. What comfort does Revelation 7 (particularly verse 14) bring to the Christian who is convicted of his participation in the sins of others?

C.

Read 2 Timothy 2:3-4 in the New King James Version and compare it with Hebrews 11:6. How do these verses support Mr. Williams’ claim that the Christian’s “higher purpose on earth [is] to receive the gifts of God”?

“A Quick Fast” Pastor Timothy Schellenbach Bible Study Leaders' Guide I.

II.

III.

Read 1 Corinthians 11:23-34 A. What does Paul indicate we are to do before receiving the Sacrament of the Altar?

We are to examine ourselves to see if we will be communing worthily.

B. Does the fact that Paul says we are to “do” something indicate that we are “earning” the benefits of the Supper?

Of course not. The benefits of the supper are a free gift of God. Forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are always a free gift, never earned.

C. Why are we to examine ourselves, then?

Not to earn anything, but so that we can be sure that we are not rejecting God’s free gifts through disbelief in the words, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

Read Matthew 6:16-21 A. As Pastor Petersen points out, Jesus doesn’t command fasting, but He does assume His followers will fast. What sort of fasting does He warn against?

He warns against fasting to be seen by men, that is, fasting to show others how “holy” or “pious” you are.

That’s self-centered and not only is it not beneficial, it is actually spiritually harmful.

B. When Jesus says we should fast to be seen by the Father and that the Father will “reward you openly,” is that works-righteousness?

Jesus is contrasting fasting to be seen by men with fasting to be seen by God. The point is that fasting in order to make yourself look good is counterproductive, while fasting which is only known to God is productive. It’s not that you’re earning a reward from God, so much as that fasting that is done for its true purpose, putting to death the old sinful nature and reminding one of Christ’s sufferings in which He gave up everything for us, is beneficial to our spiritual lives, and that benefit is the “reward” He speaks of.

Read Romans 10:5-13 A. Does this mean that confessing the faith is a good work done to earn salvation?

No. Outward confessions of faith (including confessions by action, including fasting) are not justifying.

Even faith itself is not justifying as a good work. Justification only comes from Christ in whom we trust, not from the act of trusting Him nor of the outward actions that show we trust in Him. B. Why is confessing the faith important, then?

Because a person who trusts in Christ is going to act like a person who trusts in Christ. If he doesn’t, it’s a pretty good sign that his faith, his trust, is either weak or nonexistent.

C. Is fasting therefore something commanded, something we have to do?

Of course not. Fasting is only one among many ways in which Christians prepare themselves for, and confess to others the importance of, the Holy Supper. All can be used rightly or abused. The faith which is confessed is more important than exactly how you confess it.

“A Quick Fast” Pastor Timothy Schellenbach Bible Study I.

Read 1 Corinthians 11:23-34 A. What does Paul indicate we are to do before receiving the Sacrament of the Altar?

B. Does the fact that Paul says we are to “do” something indicate that we are “earning” the benefits of the Supper?

C.

II.

Why are we to examine ourselves, then?

Read Matthew 6:16-21 A. As Pastor Petersen points out, Jesus doesn’t command fasting, but He does assume His followers will fast. What sort of fasting does He warn against?

B. When Jesus says we should fast to be seen by the Father and that the Father will “reward you openly,” is that works-righteousness?

III.

Read Romans 10:5-13 A. Does this mean that confessing the faith is a good work done to earn salvation?

B.

Why is confessing the faith important, then?

C.

Is fasting therefore something commanded, something we have to do?

“Pastor, I Heard God Speak to Me” Pastor Darrin Kohrt Bible Study Leaders' Guide Begin your study by praying Psalm 5.

I.

Selective Hearing A. Our “auditory universe” is filled with sounds and voices. Many are false and deceptive. Who always wants us to listen to his deceit? See John 8:44.

Satan is the father of lies. He was able to “bend the ear” of Eve and he’s been at it ever since.

B.

II.

III.

Why does he always have an audience? What makes our hearing so “selective?” See 1 John 4:4-6.

The unbeliever is tuned in to the world’s message but deaf to the word of God. Because of the sinful nature, believers too always struggle resist bending an ear to Satan’s brainwashing.

Faithful Hearing A. How does faith originate according to Romans 10:17?

From hearing the word of Christ. Luther taught that the Holy Spirit conceived Christ through Mary’s ear.

We might consider that our faith is conceived in the heart, but via the ear.

B.

Why is this granting of faith through hearing an even greater miracle, in a sense, than Jesus’ opening of the ears of the deaf mute? See Mark 7:31-17.

In granting physical hearing Christ at least has something to work with. In granting faith, that which is dead (the person spiritually) has to be made alive. In the end, both are complementary and show the completeness of Christ’s restoration of the fallen world.

C.

How is our faithful hearing related to the Third Commandment? Consult Luther’s Small Catechism.

A true believer will want to hear God’s word taught and proclaimed and thus will desire to be in worship.

It is our continual hearing of God’s word that sustains our faith.

Hearing Directly, But Through Means A. God never promises to speak to us apart from means. According to Hebrews 1:1-2 what is the definitive way in which God has “spoken” to the world?

Through His incarnate Son! The written Scriptures are the witness to Christ and of Christ.

B.

What human office does God use to make sure He is still heard today? See Luke10:16 and 1 Timothy 3:1-7.

The Public Office of the Ministry. You might also want to read Article V of the Augsburg Confession and note the explicit reference to faith.

C.

How do we know that when God speaks to us through His means that His “speaking” is meant personally for us? Hint: consider the Baptismal Formula and the Words of Institution. See also Isaiah 43:1.

Language is used that clearly refers to individuals. Your baptism and your reception of Christ’s body and blood are not generic. You are not an anonymous person to God!

“Pastor, I Heard God Speak to Me” Pastor Darrin Kohrt Bible Study Begin your study by praying Psalm 5.

I.

Selective Hearing A. Our “auditory universe” is filled with sounds and voices. Many are false and deceptive. Who always wants us to listen to his deceit? See John 8:44.

B.

II.

III.

Why does he always have an audience? What makes our hearing so “selective?” See 1 John 4:4-6.

Faithful Hearing A. How does faith originate according to Romans 10:17?

B.

Why is this granting of faith through hearing an even greater miracle, in a sense, than Jesus’ opening of the ears of the deaf mute? See Mark 7:31-17.

C.

How is our faithful hearing related to the Third Commandment? Consult Luther’s Small Catechism.

Hearing Directly, But Through Means A. God never promises to speak to us apart from means. According to Hebrews 1:1-2 what is the definitive way in which God has “spoken” to the world?

B.

What human office does God use to make sure He is still heard today? See Luke10:16 and 1 Timothy 3:1-7.

C.

How do we know that when God speaks to us through His means that His “speaking” is meant personally for us? Hint: consider the Baptismal Formula and the Words of Institution. See also Isaiah 43:1.

“People Are Like Sponges” Pastor Paul Philp Bible Study Leaders' Guide I.

II.

III.

Mr. Stuckwisch describes people as sponges. In our sinfulness these we are like a dry sponge that is as he puts it, “just a worthless rag.” Read Psalm 51.

A. What is the source of our sin?

It is within us. Verse 5 notes that we are sinful from the time of our conception. Original sin comes to us from Adam and Eve. B. Who does the Psalmist identify as the one who has been sinned against?

According to verse 4, God. C. What types of things does the Psalmist mention which God could justly do to us as a result of our sin?

Judge us and condemn us. Cast us from His presence (into hell).

D. In what way does the Psalmist view a change from his sinful state taking place?

By God cleansing us, washing us and creating a new Spirit within us.

E. What types of things result from this change?

We are restored, we rejoice in our salvation, we teach others about God and call sinners back to Him, and we give praise to God. F. What similarities are there in David’s words in the Psalm and the image of our dried out sponges being plunged into the baptismal waters of Christ?

The response of David to God’s cleansing is very much like that of the wet sponge that Mr. Stuckwisch describes in the article. We pour forth God’s blessings which we have received in Baptism upon others.

Mr. Stuckwisch notes the words of the Fifth Petition, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

A. Who forgives whom first?

God forgives us first.

B. Note the quote in the article from Luther’s explanation of the Fifth Petition. Based upon this, why is this petition in the Lord’s Prayer?

We are sinners in need of forgiveness and deserve nothing but God’s wrath and punishment.

C. How often do we sin?

Daily. We sin constantly and continually need the blessings of our baptism.

D. How quickly do our sponges dry out?

They tend to dry out very quickly.

E. What can happen when our sponges dry out? (Read the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18:21 -35).

In short we return to being worthless rags. We no longer spread the abundance of God’s blessings, but rather sin all the more.

F. What was the first servant’s problem in terms of his relationship to the King? Was his sponge dry or wet?

He was in serious debt. His sponge was dried out.

G. How did the King respond?

He forgave all his debt. He made his sponge wet and useful.

H. Based upon his actions later in the parable, did the servant’s sponge stay wet very long?

It seems that it did not. He, all to often like ourselves, was quickly dry and sinning against his fellow servant.

I. Based upon Luther’s words and the parable, what is important for us regarding our sin and our baptism?

That we regularly repent and receive the forgiveness that is ours in baptism. That our sponges be held under and made wet in Christ anew each day.

Mr. Stuckwisch closes by pointing us to the story of Jesus and the woman at the well in John 4:1-42.

A. Who is the source of the living water?

Jesus Himself. The very source of life in our Baptism is the living water described in the text.

B. How has that living water been given to us?

Through faith created in us at our Baptism, and continually as Christ forgives us our sins, making us wet in His grace.

C. What is the result of that living water as a “spring of water welling up to eternal life” within us?

Like a sponge that is filled with water, it pours out of us and unto others. As sponges filled with the Blessings of Christ, those blessings continue to overflow. Ultimately, the result is that we will be with Christ in eternal life, where we will never dry out in sin again.

“People Are Like Sponges” Pastor Paul Philp Bible Study I.

II.

III.

Mr. Stuckwisch describes people as sponges. In our sinfulness these we are like a dry sponge that is as he puts it, “just a worthless rag.” Read Psalm 51.

A. What is the source of our sin?

B.

Who does the Psalmist identify as the one who has been sinned against?

C.

What types of things does the Psalmist mention which God could justly do to us as a result of our sin?

D.

In what way does the Psalmist view a change from his sinful state taking place?

E.

What types of things result from this change?

F.

What similarities are there in David’s words in the Psalm and the image of our dried out sponges being plunged into the baptismal waters of Christ?

Mr. Stuckwisch notes the words of the Fifth Petition, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

A. Who forgives whom first?

B.

Note the quote in the article from Luther’s explanation of the Fifth Petition. Based upon this, why is this petition in the Lord’s Prayer?

C.

How often do we sin?

D.

How quickly do our sponges dry out?

E.

What can happen when our sponges dry out? (Read the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18:21 -35).

F.

What was the first servant’s problem in terms of his relationship to the King? Was his sponge dry or wet?

G.

How did the King respond?

H.

Based upon his actions later in the parable, did the servant’s sponge stay wet very long?

I.

Based upon Luther’s words and the parable, what is important for us regarding our sin and our baptism?

Mr. Stuckwisch closes by pointing us to the story of Jesus and the woman at the well in John 4:1-42.

A. Who is the source of the living water?

B.

How has that living water been given to us?

C.

What is the result of that living water as a “spring of water welling up to eternal life” within us?